Facebook has to deal with multiple federal agencies simultaneously investigating its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. According to The Washington Post, the FBI, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have joined the DOJ’s probe into the two companies. The New York Times reported back in May that the FBI and the DOJ are looking into the political consulting firm, but it sounds like the probe is much bigger than that.
Facebook has confirmed that it received requests for info from the agencies and said in a statement: “We are cooperating with officials in the US, UK and beyond. We’ve provided public testimony, answered questions, and pledged to continue our assistance as their work continues.”
The Washington Post says the feds are currently focused on finding out what Facebook knew about Alexander Kogan’s activities three years ago, what data was collected exactly and under what conditions. They also want to know why the social network didn’t notify authorities and the public if it knew anything. Kogan was the researcher who created the thisisyourdigitallife app that collected the data sold to Cambridge Analytica.
In addition, the investigators are looking into any discrepancies in the more recent stories told by people involved, including Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony when he faced Congress. Details behind the investigation remain murky though, and we’ll have to wait for more info to find out whether the agencies are filing charges or slapping Facebook with penalties.
Source: The Washington Post, Bloomberg
